1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices used to dispose of used vehicular tires. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for generating useful heat by the destruction of tires and other similar materials.
2. The Prior Art
The disposal of used, worn out, vehicular tires is a major environmental concern. Large piles of old tires is a common sight in many regions of the world. Used tires readily burn and large piles present a serious fire hazard. Moreover, the open air burning of tires creates a thick, noxious smoke which produces health endangering, and very visible, pollution. Even the open air burning of just a few tires can produce a thick smoke plume which can be seen for miles and will linger for hours.
Disposal of old tires, as well as similar organic materials, is a problem which has been the subject of significant research; yet a suitable solution has not yet been available in the art. In order to sponsor research into acceptable methods of disposing of old tires, some governmental agencies regularly charge a tax on the removal of old tires from a vehicle and the mounting of new tires. Still, suitable methods for disposing of used tires have not been found. Ideally, whatever process or apparatus which is used to dispose of old tires and similar wastes, results in useful products in addition to the disposal of the tires in an environmentally acceptable manner.
One such attempt in the art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,408 to Howard. The Howard device is a destructive distillation device that feeds gases, produced by heating old tires in a sealed chamber, to a fractionation column in an effort to recover useful products from the gas. The Howard device is similar to a coke oven in that heat is applied externally to the air-tight chamber holding the tires which acts as a melting pot. The Howard device attempts to recover useful compounds as a by product to the disposal of old tires.
An attempt at a device to cleanly dispose of old tires and obtain useful combustible gas from the disposal process is disclosed in Japanese Patent publication No. 55-65820 to Noboru. The Noboru reference discloses a chamber into which old tires are stacked, burned, and the resulting gas is collected and used as a heat source. Disadvantageously, the arrangement of tires and the inlets and outlets to the chamber results in the tires on the bottom burning much more slowly than the tires on the top of the stack. This results in an inconsistent supply of combustible gas being produced. Using the device shown in the Noboru reference, the gas which is first produced has a relatively high BTU content with the BTU content of the gas quickly dropping off as the tires burn.
Another attempt in the art to obtain useful energy from the disposal of old tires is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,082 to Marangoni. The Marangoni reference burns old tires to generate steam which is in turn presented to a heat exchanger. However, the device disclosed in the Marangoni reference suffers from inefficient operation and results in low useful heat output and the generation of excessive pollutants.
Due to the long felt, and unmet, need in the art for an efficient tire disposal system it would be a great advance in the art to provide a system and method for disposing of used tires and similar materials which consistently produces useful amounts of heat and also minimizes the generation of pollutants.